Automobile wheel lock



9, 1952 H. s. PRATT AUTOMOBILE WHEEL LUCK 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 Filed Feb. 20, 1951 .H. SLPI ZZZ INVENTOR,

ATTORNEYS Aug. 19, 1952 H. s. PRATT 2,607,631

AUTOMOBILE! WHEEL LOCK Filed Feb. 20, 1951 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 19, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE AUTOMOBILE WHEEL LOCK Hewet s. Pratt, Salix, Iowa Applicat-ion February 20, 1951, Serial No. 211,856

the hub of the wheel, which pins and latch mem-.

bers firmly secure the. removable. wheel sec; tion to-thehuh.

Still another object of. theinvention is to.pro-i. vide means for insuring. the proper --positioning of the wheelonthe hub, to align the .pivotedlateh arms ..with the pins extending from the. hub of thewheel, and with which the .latch arms, connect in holdingthe. wheel to its hub,

With .the foregoingand other objects inview which will appear as. the. description -proceeds,. the. invention consists of certain novel details of construction. and combinations of partshereinafter more fully described and pointed out in the claims, it being understood that changes .may. be. made. in theuconstruction and arrangement of parts. without. departing. from the spiritof the invention as claimed.

Referring to. the drawings,

Figure lis aseetionalviewthrough a wheel illustrating the attaching means constructed in accordance with the invention, the hub of the wheel being shown in elevation.

Fig. 2 is a side elevational View of the wheel, the hub cap of the wheel having been removed.

Fig. 3 isasectional view through a portion of the wheel and one of the pins extending from the wheel hub, illustrating a latch arm in side elevation in its active or locking-position.

' Fig. 4 isa plan viewthereof.

Fig. 5 is an elevational view illustrating a portion of the wheel in section, and illustrating a latcharm as moved to disengage the cooperating pincf the wheel hub.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the aligning plate, by means of which the pivoted latch arms are aligned with the cooperating latch pins.

Fig. '7 is a perspective view of the tool used in withdrawing the securing ring from its position adjacent to the keeper pins of the device.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the reference character 5 indicates the usual hub of a motor vehicle wheel, which hub includes laterally extending pins 6, which pins are provided with recesses] formed in .theside. wall. thereon-the, recessesbeingconstructed to i receive. the enlarge,

ments 8 of the pivotal latch arms 9.

Theepivotal latchv arms sarewmountedin the curved supporting: plates. l0..that..have. one. of. their. respective ends welded or otherwisease-q curedto. the l attachingring. I 1 which ring; I I has, openings designed. to. register with. thepins. B so that ,when theringl I ispositioned over the pins:

and. forced to l the. limitof .its inward movement, the ring will closely engagetheflange;I2aform= ingapartof. the disc wheel I3,:the flange. being provided with openings that also register with: the pins 6, so that, the wheel may be readily positioned thereover.

Cooperating with the i pivoted latch arms. 9,: is the lockyring l4 whichi'is of. a diameter to. fit.

overthe. edgesof the supporting plates. Land outer. surfacesnf. the pivoted latch arms 9,.hold-.- ing; the. pivoted latch. arms 9 a against the. pins with the-enlargements sin the recesses 1 of the Dine. In order that-the lock ring. It will beheld; in. position, springfingers 15 are provided onzthe; lock, ring. and extend inwardly therefrom; the, spring fingers being so, constructed and; ar an edthat they will fall into the notches l6 formed inthe pins 6, adjacent to the recesses ,1, thereby o g the l ck. r ng I 4 a ainst a ciden al. displac m nt t w ll b bvious that w e t e loc ring I 4 :ha een. pos oned o that. the series It heprin fine' w ll be dee inst outward m re:

ers Iii enga w n e: o ches ment.;, n es the, loc r is mov d o a; position as e t y Pie 5 of th rawi s- The lock re 4 t nnec ed w ht e rinefl. by, mean tt e ar s Hi; the r n I openin Q r th r ept o of e o n lusslilz. a r dtat theends o e prin arm- 2 tot t e:

tool -des sne f r movi g the l ck ng-m ans, when the wheel proper is to be removed, since it;

tool as shown by Fig. l of the drawings.

nece s ry to exert exces ive'ior eto a seth sprin fin ers to mo t rom i i tchestlfi o. r eas h -p t d. latch rm fi.

e sh ne arm 21 are con ected tot erdi Fig. '7 may now be positioned within the ring ,1!

cv- L z-which is provided with the f nger-piece with the lugs 20 disposed within the openings [9 of the ring II. The ring I! may now be pulled by the tool to cause the spring fingers to disengage the pins, whereupon the pivoted latch arms 9 will be swung to their open positions, as the lock ring I4 is moved outwardly to the position as shown by Fig. 5. The wheel may now be readily removed and replaced. It is obvious that when the wheel is replaced the wheel is positioned so that the pins 6 pass through openings in the wheel.

In order to insure the proper aligning of the openings of the attaching ring H with the pins, and insure the proper positioning of the lock ring I4 to cause the spring fingers IE to move over the pivoted latch arms 9, the aligning plate 24 is provided, the aligning plate 24 having a flange 25 at one end thereof which is welded or otherwise secured to the attaching ring H, the oppo- Y move the lock ring towards the pins, with the.

assurance that the pivoted latch arms will move into the recesses I to lock the wheel to its hub.

From the foregoing it is believed that the construction and operation of the wheel lockin device will be obvious, and that further description as to the operation is unnecessary.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. In a motor vehicle wheel, a wheel hub, securing pins having recesses, extending from said hub, a main wheel section having openings fitted over the pins, wheel securing means embodying an attaching ring having openings fitted over said pins in contact with the wheel, latch arms carried by the attaching ring, movable into the recesses locking the main wheel section to the hub, said securing means also including an inner locking ring and an outer ring, arms connecting the'rings, and means on said innerlocking ring engageable with said latch arms adapted to move the latch arms into and out of locking relation with the pins.

2. In a motor vehicle wheel, a wheel hub, securing pins having recesses, extending from the hub, a main wheel section removably secured to the hub, said main wheel section having openings fitted over the pins, wheel securing means embodying an attaching ring formed with openings, fitted over said pins in contact with the wheel, pivoted latch arms carried by said attachingring, enlargements on the latch arms engageable within the recesses holding the removable wheel section on the hub, and a locking ring movable over the latcharm adapted to move the latch arms into and out of locking relation with said pins. 1

3. In a motor vehicle wheel, a wheel hub, securing pins having recesses formed in the sides' thereof, extending from the hub, a main wheel section removably secured to the hub, amain wheel'section removably secured to the hub, said main wheel section having openings fitted over the pins, wheel securing means embodying an attaching ring formed with openings, fitted over said pins in contact with the wheel, pivoted latch arms carried by said securin ring, enlargements on the latch arms engageable within the recesses holding the removable wheel section on the hub, a locking ring movable over said latch arms, moving the latch arms into andout of locking relation with said pins, and spring fingers carried by said locking ring, engageable with said pins holding said locking ring and latch arms in their locking positions.

4. In a motor vehicle wheel, a wheel hub, securing pins extending laterally from the Wheel hub, a main removable wheel section havin openings fitted over said pins, an attaching ring having openings fitted over said pins in contact with the removable wheel section, pivoted latch arms carried by said attaching ring engageable with said pins securing the ring in position against said removable wheel section, means for securing said latcharms in their locking positions, and means for holding said latch arms in their locking positions. 1

5. In-a motor vehicle wheel, a wheel hub, securing pins extending from said wheel hub, a main wheel section having openings fitted over the pins, an attaching ring having openings fitted over the pins engageable with said removable wheel section holding the wheel section to thehub, latch members carried by said attachingring engageable with said pins securing said at-i taching ring in position, a locking ring movable.

. over said latch arms holding said latch arms in their latching positions, and means for guiding: the locking ring over said pivoted latch members;

6. In a motor vehicle wheel, a wheel hub, se-. curing pins extending from the hub, a main wheel section having openings, removably secured to the hub, said openings being fitted over the pins, curved supporting plates, an attaching ring formed. with openings fitted over said pins, said supporting plates being secured to said attaching ring adjacent. tosaid openings providing hous-- ings for said pins, pivoted latch members mounted on the attaching ring engageable with said pins securing the attaching ring in position on the pins, and a locking ring movable over said latch members adapted to secure the latch members in theiractive or inactive positions. v

- HARVEYS. PRATT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the 

